1. IENG 451 / 452 Lean Processes: Roots & Contributions
IENG Lecture 14
Lean Processes:
Roots & Contributions
5/29/2018
IENG 451 Operational Strategies
(c) D.H. Jensen

2. IENG 451 Operational Strategies
Roots of Lean Systems
Craft Production System (circa 1900)
Customized for the Customer
Owner/Entrepreneur coordinates (like a general contractor)
Design engineers
Small machine shops
Contract manufacturers
Equipment is general purpose, mostly manually operated
Production volume is low
Prices are high
Characteristic Problems
Have to be rich to buy an automobile
Each one was a prototype
Quality levels were unpredictable
Improvements were not shared, sometimes seen as threats
5/29/2018
IENG 451 Operational Strategies

3. F. W. Taylor & Lillian Gilbreth
Scientific Management (circa 1910)
Replace rule-of-thumb work methods with methods based on a scientific study of the tasks.
Scientifically select, train, and develop each employee rather than passively leaving them to train themselves.
Provide "Detailed instruction and supervision of each worker in the performance of that worker's discrete task"
Divide work nearly equally between managers and workers, so that the managers apply scientific management principles to planning the work and the workers actually perform the tasks.
Contributions to Lean
Standardized Work – best (& easiest) way to do the job
Reduced Cycle Time
Time & Motion Study
Measurement and Analysis for Continual Improvement
Predecessor to DMAIC
5/29/2018
IENG 451 Operational Strategies

4. IENG 451 Operational Strategies
Henry Ford
Ford Manufacturing System (circa 1907)
Interchangeability of parts and ease of assembly.
Standardized gage use.
Reduction of parts & simplification of assembly
Delivery of parts to the work area
Cycle time reduction from hours (1908) to minutes (1913)
Moving assembly line – stationary worker
Contributions to Lean
Interchangeability and ease of part assembly
Reduction of required worker actions
Moving assembly line (production synchronization)
5/29/2018
IENG 451 Operational Strategies

5. IENG 451 Operational Strategies
Alfred P. Sloan
General Motors (circa 1937)
Managerial and Marketing Innovations
Decentralization of operations
Standard measures to report to senior management
Management “by the numbers”
Separation of Management and Labor
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)
Contributions to Lean
Professional Management
Data-driven decision making
Rise of mass production labor movement
Widened gap between shop floor and management
GAAP came to encourage excessive inventories
5/29/2018
IENG 451 Operational Strategies

6. Eiji Toyoda & Taiichi Ohno
Toyota Motor Company (circa 1950)
Visited River Rouge Plant to address Japanese automobile market constraints
Market was small, but demanded a wide range of products
Capital was too scarce for investment in the latest technology
Established automakers could compete on price
Japanese labor laws strongly favored unions
Conclusions
Mass production would not work for Toyota …
however, “There are some possibilities to improve the production system”
Historic Bargain
Contributions to Lean
Lifetime employment for labor and management
Pay steeply graded to seniority
Bonuses tie pay to company profitability
5/29/2018
IENG 451 Operational Strategies

7. Lean is Toyota’s Response to “New” Necessities
Fragmented Markets
Tough Competition
Fixed / Falling Prices
Rapid Technological Change
High Capital Costs
Need for Capable Workers
… this goes beyond manufacturing automobiles …
5/29/2018
IENG 451 Operational Strategies

8. IENG 451 Operational Strategies
Questions & Issues
5/29/2018
IENG 451 Operational Strategies
(c) D.H. Jensen